Mastering Product Descriptions for Your Handmade Skincare Business

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When selling handmade skincare products online, writing compelling product descriptions is a huge part of each item listing (aka sales page). And if you’ve ever sat down to write one, you know that it’s easier said than done!

Luckily, there is an approachable formula to follow that will ensure the best search results and a cure for any writer’s block that comes your way!

Whether you’re selling on Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, Squarespace, GoDaddy, or elsewhere, this post will guide you through the MUST-HAVE information in each and every skincare product description to maximize your reach and your sales.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links (at no cost to you). Please read the disclosure for more information.

Importance of E-Commerce Product Descriptions for Skincare Businesses

Before we dive into the product description formula, I want to make sure you understand the importance of the sales page copy you provide to your audience, which is actually two-fold.

First, selling skincare products online is tricky because our potential customers cannot smell, feel, or test the product as they could in a brick-and-mortar location.

As an e-commerce seller, it is your job to make them understand exactly what they’ll be receiving and entice them to purchase without having all of their senses engaged. No easy feat (and we’ll talk about that in detail below).

But to be completely honest, many people don’t read product descriptions in full. Your product photography should already be doing a lot of this communication for you.

So why take the time and energy to write professional product descriptions?

Three words: Search. Engine. Optimization.

By writing detailed, on-brand, keyword-rich product descriptions, you are helping search engines understand your website to show customers searching online the unique skin care products YOU have to offer.

This means that even if your audience doesn’t read a single word of your product descriptions, this copy is still an insanely valuable asset to get you found online and is WELL worth your time to do correctly as an e-commerce entrepreneur.

Understanding Your Audience

To write effective product descriptions that speak to your skin care customers AND help search engines show your products to the right people, you have to understand your audience inside and out.

This is done by identifying your skin care target market: their needs, preferences, pain points, and lifestyles.

Once you nail down your target market and create a customer avatar, spend some time dialing in your brand voice if you haven’t done so already.

Even if you are using an AI text-generator to help you with other business copy, knowing the phrases and tone of your target market will help you guide AI to tailor product descriptions that resonate with your audience.

Keep scrolling for the easiest product description formula you’ll find!

Part 1: Highlighting Skincare Product Benefits

The first part of your product description formula is to communicate your skin care item’s benefits and appeal to your customer’s senses and/or emotions.

In short paragraphs of 2-3 sentences each, explain what problem your product solves (3 paragraphs max).

This is easy to do as skin care makers, as a lot of times individuals feel incredibly impacted by the health and appearance of their skin, especially when they’re dealing with issues like eczema, acne, irritation, and signs of aging.

Create an emotional connection by sharing the significance of your beautiful ingredients, how those ingredients make this the best product for their skin type, and what they will feel like and experience when using your product.

In your unique business brand voice, use identifiable, descriptive, sensory language to help your audience experience your products through the screen (colors, textures, scents, etc).

Get that imagination going!

You should also include hints of your brand’s values and journey – your sustainable packaging or plastic-free mission is worth mentioning and could be the icing on the cake to land a sale!

Keep in mind that your audience may not have seen your home page or know your product line is handmade, all-natural, etc. Many online shoppers land on a product listing by clicking on a Google suggestion, link from a friend, or Pinterest pin.

Because of this, it’s okay to be a bit repetitive from one product listing to another to make sure they have all the info they need. As you are writing, assume that this particular sales page is the first bit of copy that they’re seeing of yours.

If you would like help writing your product descriptions, check out this article on using AI-Generated Text for Your Skincare Business.

The example below was created using ChatGPT – I’ll admit it’s a little over the top and I would do some fine-tuning if using it for my own website, but a great starting point.

Part 2: Highlighting Skincare Product Facts

Part two of the product description formula is easy peasy, lemon squeezy (and I actually START with this section because it squashes that ‘blank canvas’ syndrome).

Underneath your 2-3 paragraphs of benefits, you are simply going to provide a bullet point list of the FACTS surrounding your skin care product.

We’re talking size (oz.), color (if applicable), ingredients (largest amount down to the smallest, including the Latin), packaging, shelf life, application/usage instructions, storage instructions, etc.

While there are no real ‘rules’ about how many points you can have, I like to stay under ten so that the list is easily scannable.

Part 3: Skincare Product Social Proof

Reviews, stars, and testimonials are all examples of ‘social proof’ and are absolutely essential for selling online.

You know this. Most people have experience with Amazon, so I’ll use that as an example. I can tell you right now that when there is an entire page of products presented to you after a product search, you aren’t clicking on any of the items with anything under 4 stars.

If you sell your skin care products on a marketplace (such as Etsy or Amazon) they will populate the reviews to your shop as they come in. However, you can still copy-paste your own testimonials into the product description area.

If you’re on a website builder, such as Shopify, I highly recommend adding an app such as Judge.Me Reviews that allow testimonials to be added to your shop listings.

Pro Tip #1: Have reviews for your shop but not for a certain item because it just launched? Add general shop reviews to new products to show customers that you have a great track record and a trusted line.

Pro Tip #2: Are you brand new to e-commerce and have yet to receive any reviews? Time to reach out to your inner circle to get quotable, direct feedback that you can use while waiting for those ‘real customer’ testimonials to start flooding in!

Example Product Description Part 3: Product Reviews (Dry Skin Serum)

Part 4: Related Skincare Items

Remember how we discussed above that it is VERY possible that your potential customer landed on a particular listing of yours by clicking from somewhere else?

They may have ZERO clue as to what else you offer, and this is your chance to keep them clicking around on your site (more clicks = more emotional investment = more chance of landing a sale)!

If you are selling a Dry Skin Face Serum, add links to other dry skin products, such as under-eye salve, moisturizing soaps, or even a gift set that includes the dry skin face serum.

Pro Tip #1: If you are on a marketplace, such as Etsy, that doesn’t allow you to hyperlink to other pages of your shop, use a free link-shortening service such as Bitly to make your links appear more clean and trustworthy.

Pro Tip #2: If you use Shopify or Woocommerce (amongst others), you are able to add a section to the bottom of your product listings that says ‘Related Products’ or ‘You May Also Like’. While I definitely make sure I use this section, I add links to related products in my product description as well, as a banner section of ‘Related Products’ at the bottom tends to be a blind spot and is overlooked by many online shoppers.

Example Skin Care Product Description

Let’s see all four sections of the product description formula put together!

I hope this gives you tons of ideas and peace when writing your product descriptions – start with the easiest parts for you and move on from there!

If you would like additional guidance or feedback on your own descriptions, request access here to a wonderful community of like-minded entrepreneurs over in our private FB Group!

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